Detox cures and detox patches are on everyone’s lips. Gossip magazines and blogs are overflowing with detox recipes, testimonials and advertising. But what’s the detox hype all about?
Our food is not “pure”, we always take in substances that the body does not need or that could harm it. We are actively or passively exposed to cigarette smoke, repeatedly come into contact with environmental toxins or absorb other harmful substances into our bodies. This is not healthy, but it is quite normal. Many of these substances accumulate in certain tissues. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), for example, are found in fatty tissue. Although these substances are already banned in the EU, they are in the food cycle and we all have them stored in our fatty tissue. DDT, which was used until the 1970s, is also stored in fatty tissue. There are many such examples.
The detox theory now says that these substances can be removed through cures or other means such as Detox patches should be removed to keep us healthy.
Slag
One often hears the term “slag”, which can be found in the body. It is important to know that, medically speaking, there is no such thing as slag. Slag is an industrial term used to describe waste from incineration processes. There is no such thing in the body. Our body breaks down toxins, excretes them or stores them in cells, for example; it does not produce waste products. The term therefore describes an alleged physical problem that does not exist.
Can you still detox?
Now you could argue that you can remove these substances stored in the tissue with a detox cure or a detox patch. Slag or no slag. Here, too, it is important to know that the vast majority of toxins are automatically excreted by our body. Kidneys, liver, intestines and the like are designed to keep our body “pure”. It is one of their tasks. This means that there is normally no excessive accumulation of any substances [1]. But no matter, we also want to eliminate the little bit that is stored there through detox cures and patches. Is that possible?
Detox cures
There are a myriad of detox cures. Incidentally, there are hardly any studies on this because, as described above, there is no scientific reason to do so. A review came to the conclusion that there are no studies on detox diets and no evidence that they work [2].
But let’s take a look at such a cure: Detox cures are usually pure juice cures . Special products are often used to empty the colon (“colon cleansing”). You can also buy additional food supplements that are said to contain detoxifying substances or have a positive effect on the intestinal flora. You should also drink plenty of water, teas (you can also buy them separately), vegetable juices and fruit juices. This is followed by a high-fiber diet consisting exclusively of fruit and vegetables or raw vegetable juices. Solid foods are only slowly reintroduced. The whole thing is very similar to alkaline fasting, but you can buy some additional products from the respective distributor.
Detox plaster
My favorite product as far as rip-offs are concerned are detox patches. They are small bags filled with herbs. You stick them to your feet overnight, then they suck all the toxins out of your body overnight. You can even see it in the morning because the pavements have turned dark. At least that’s how the legend goes… You don’t even know where to start to put things right. For example, the idea that toxins diffuse from the tissues through the entire body as if by magic and then migrate via the sole of the foot into a plaster, attracted by the energy of the herbs. If that were possible, couldn’t we also cure snake bites and mushroom poisoning simply with herbal plasters? Also the discoloration, which can also be caused by a few drops of water… We usually sweat at night and so it is not surprising that they color herbs. We certainly don’t see the toxins that the patch has sucked out.
Detox: rip-off or wonder weapon?
From a scientific point of view, it is not necessary to cleanse the body of slowly accumulating harmful substances and toxins. Our body can cleanse itself and keep itself healthy by excreting unwanted substances via organs such as the liver, kidneys, intestines, skin and lungs [1]. Only a small amount actually accumulates in the body in the long term.
Therefore, the professional associations agree: detox cures are not necessary and their effect cannot be scientifically proven. And the alleged processes during the cure or the plastering are completely illogical, I would like to add.
References
[1] J. Wipplinger, “Detox: The myth of detoxification,” 2019. https://www.medizin-transparent.at/detox-der-mythos-vom-entgiften/ (accessed Oct. 13, 2022).
[2] A. v. Klein and H. Kiat, “Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence,” Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 675-686, Dec. 2015, doi: 10.1111/jhn.12286.
